External Factors - Material Deprivation

Question 1

Evidence of material deprivation affecting achievement

Answer 1

• According to the Department of Education, barely a third of students eligible for Free School Meals - a widely used measure of child poverty - achieve five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and maths.
• Nearly 90% of failing schools are located in deprived areas.

Question 2

How can housing cause the differences in achievement?

Answer 2

• Overcrowding can have a direct effect by making it harder for the child to study. Overcrowding means less room for educational activities, nowhere to do homework and disturbed sleep from sharing bedrooms.
• Families living in temporary accommodation may find themselves having to move frequently, resulting in constant changes of school and disrupted education.
• Poor housing can also have indirect effects. For example, children in crowded homes are more at risk of accidents and they are more at risk of ill-health as a result of cold or damp housing.

Question 3

How can diet and health cause the differences in achievement?

Answer 3

• Howard found that young people from poorer homes have lower intakes of energy, vitamins and minerals. As a result, these students have weaker immune systems and lower energy levels. This is likely to result in more absences from school due to illness, and difficulties concentrating in class
• Children from poorer homes are also more likely to have emotional or behavioural problems. According to Wilkinson, among 10 year olds, the lower the social class, the higher the rate of hyperactivity, anxiety and conduct disorders, all of which are likely to have a negative effect on the child’s education, as it increases the likelihood that they will be excluded or that they truant more often meaning they miss valuable learning time.

Question 4

How can financial support and the cost of education cause the differences in achievement?

Answer 4

• Lack of financial support means the children from poor families have to do without equipment and miss out on experiences that would enhance educational achievement.
• As a result, poor children may have to make do with hand me downs and cheaper but unfashionable equipment, and this may result in being isolated or bullied by peers. -Furthermore, working-class children can’t afford private schooling or tuition, and are more likely to have to attend poorer quality local schools.

-Financial support for students staying on in education after 16 that had previously been available through Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) was abolished. So, children from low-income families often need to work which often has negative impacts on their school work.

Question 5

How can the fear of debt cause the differences in achievement?

Answer 5

• Callender and Jackson found that working class students are more debt averse. WC saw more costs than benefits in going to university.
• The more debt averse students (typically WC) were over 5 times less likely to apply than the most debt tolerant students (typically MC). Fear of debt helps to explain why only 30% of university students come from working class backgrounds although the working class group account for 50% of the population.

-Financial factors also restrict working-class students’ choice of university and chances of success. Reay found that working-class students were more likely to apply to local universities so that they can live at home and save on travel costs, but this gave them less opportunity to go to the highest status universities. They were also more likely to work part-time to fund their studies, making it more difficult for them to gain higher-class degrees.

Question 6

Evaluate material deprivation as an explanation of the differences in achievement

Answer 6

• Although material factors clearly play an important part in achievement, the fact that some children from poor families do suceed suggests that material deprivation is only part of the explanation.
• For example, the cultural, religious or political values of the family may play a part in creating and maintaining the child’s motivation even despite poverty and Feinstein shows that educated parents also make positive contributions to a child’s achievement, regardless of the income level.